Heart of Tennis
by Tempest Rose
Summary: After the War, Ichigo gets the chance to return to something he loves. After nationals, fifteen players get the chance of a lifetime.
1. Chapter 1

**TR: I do not own Bleach or Prince of Tennis. While I am up to date on the Bleach manga, I have not finished the manga or anime for Prince of Tennis. Also, I am not an expert on tennis rules by any means, so please count any factual errors as creative licensing. That said, have fun and I hope you enjoy the story!**

Standing out in front of the office building that housed the National Junior Olympic Committee, Tezuka couldn't help but marvel at the unseasonable heat. It was the beginning of October, and yet the temperature was closer to what one would expect to see at the end of August. Raising a hand to block the sun from his eyes, the ever-stoic young man began to debate the merits of moving into a shadier spot when he heard his name being called. Turning toward the source of the sound, Tezuka was only mildly surprised to see the captain of Fudomine's tennis team walk up to him.

"Ohayo, Tezuka-kun. Somehow, o can't really say that I'm surprised to see you here."

"Ohayo, Tachibana-kun. I can't really say that I'm shocked to see you either. I hear Fudomine got a new transfer to their tennis team." Tezuka shot the other teen a sideways look with a slight smirk on his face.

Tachibana blinked in surprise for a moment before shaking his head with a chuckle. "So you heard about that did you?"

Deciding that he was tired of standing, Tezuka sat down on the stairs behind him with an amused snort. "I'm pretty sure that Fuji called everyone on Seigaku's team –not just the regulars- as well as players from several other schools to share the good news. Truthfully, he wasn't the only one who was happy to hear that Yuuta-kun is out from Mizuki's clutches and away from his influence."

"Ah, I do agree with that." Tachibana replied as he sat next to Tezuka on the cement steps. "He, Shinji, and Akira are practically attached at the hip most days since he came to us. I suppose I shouldn't be too overly surprised though, they are the ones that saved Yuuta from the beating that Mizuki was giving him."

"Did we miss something Tezuka?" Oishi asked as he and Eiji walked up. Sitting on a lower step from the two captains, the Golden Pair turned to look up in anticipation of an answer.

Reaching down to scratch the back of his shin, Tachibana greeted the pair with a smile. "I was just telling Tezuka about how Shinji, Akira, and Yuuta are practically attached at the hip. Personally, I think it's because they were the ones who saved Yuuta from Mizuki when that little shit decided to beat him up."

"What? Why would he beat up his own team mate?"

Sighing, Tachibana looked at Oishi for a moment before continuing his story. "The only reason that I can come up with is that Mizuki couldn't handle the fact that Yuuta refused to blindly follow his orders. Ann, Akira, Shinji, and I were walking home after playing at the street court and somehow we ended up near St. Rudolph's campus. We heard what sounded like a fight, and when we went to check it out we saw Mizuki sitting on Yuuta's chest while hitting him repeatedly. Before we could react, Mizuki switched from punching to strangling. He started yelling about how ungrateful Yuuta was, how he had invented the twist spin shot just so Yuuta could get strong enough to beat his brother. Apparently Akira and Shinji had had enough by that point because they ran over and grabbed Mizuki by the arms, and they didn't stop running until they slammed that jackass into a tree. Ann and I helped Yuuta up and we took him to our house to patch him up. While Ann treated Yuuta's injuries, I called his parents, and the five of us met them back at St. Rudolph. By the time we got there, Yuuta's parents were talking to the principal so we took Yuuta to go pack up his dorm room. When we were done we met up with his parents by the gate and all the regulars were there too. You could tell by the look on Mizuki's face that he was absolutely livid that was Yuuta was leaving; but the kid turned to his parents and told them that he wanted to transfer to Fudomine so he could play on the same team as people who gave a damn about each other and played with dignity."

"What happened then, Tachibana-kun?" Eiji was very curious.

"Akazawa-buchou told me that he knew that I was only really talking about him and Mizuki-senpai, my Kaasan started freaking out over all of my scrapes and bruises, and Oyaji told me not to cuss." Yuuta remarked casually as he stopped in front of the group of seniors with his brother on one side and his new best friends on the other. Rocking back on his heels as he stuck his hands in his pockets, Yuuta smiled innocently at Tachibana before speaking again. "Ne, Tachibana-buchou, how much trouble will I be in with you if I take Akira's mp3 player and use it strangle Shinji?"

Tachibana brought one hand up to rub his forehead in exasperation. Next to him he could see Tezuka cover his own mouth as though to stifle a yawn, but Tachibana knew the other boy was trying to keep from laughing. Lifting his eyes to stare at Yuuta, he decided to answer his kohai's question. "Yuuta-kun, I know I've told you that I don't approve of violence within the team."

Smirking lightly at his captain, Yuuta fired back another question. "But is it really violence, or is it a public service?"

"The answer is still no Yuuta."

"Ah, I kind of figured it would be. But the four of you looked so serious that I couldn't help myself. I'm in much too good of a mood to sit here and worry." Yuuta paused for a moment; he had just realized that he was behaving in a manner far too much like his brother than he was comfortable with. Turning to give Fuji a mock glare, Yuuta shuffled just a little bit closer to Shinji as he addressed the shorted brunette in front of him. "Aniki, you are a bad influence. I don't normally joke about tormenting my friends like that, your sadistic tendencies are rubbing off on me."

Fuji had to bite back a grin at Yuuta's words, it was so nice to be able to laugh and joke with his precious little brother again. Ever since Seigaku's match against St. Rudolph in the district tournament, the relationship between the brothers had improved greatly. After having sat down and talked things out, Yuuta realized that Mizuki taught him would leave the younger boy permanently disfigured by the time he finished growing. Fuji couldn't help but be glad the his brother was not in fact willing to do _anything_ to beat him, and Yuuta had begun to break away from Mizuki almost right away.

As the group of eight crowded around the steps of the building that they were to enter in about two hours, another group of eight made their way to the same destination. The traveling group was composed of quite a wide variety of teens, ranging from a tender age of twelve years of age all the way up to sixteen. At the back of the group, Momo and Kaidoh bickered back and forth, with Inui and Ryoma sharing a look of exasperated annoyance from either side of the dueling second years. However, Ryoma quickly grew tired of the way that his senpai-tachi were behaving, so the youngest boy sped up his pace so as to advance to the front of the group. Giving the doubles pair from Fudomine an apologetic nod –he was pretty sure their names were Ishida and Sakurai- Ryoma tapped the oldest boy on the leg to get the orange haired teen's attention.

"What's up Ryoma?"

"Can't you do something to stop those two back there Ichigo? I mean it is your fault that Momo-senpai and Kaidoh-senpai are fighting thins time."

Reaching over to ruffle Ryoma's shaggy green hair, Ichigo chuckled lightly. "Ok, yes, I did flick Kaoru in the forehead for only answering Yuzu's emails and ignoring the ones he gets from Karin and me. Honestly though, I'm pretty sure that Momo kid is the type to use anything as an excuse to pick a fight with Kaoru, and my dumb cousin is exactly the same way. As for stopping them, yeah I could do it easily but it would be pretty counter productive you know?"

Leaning forward to look at Ryoma from Ichigo's other side, Kawamura smiled genially at the first year prodigy. "Senpai is right Echizen. It's much easier to let Momo and Kaidoh walk the rest of the way on their own instead of having to carry them because they were knocked out."

Carding his fingers through his hair, Ryoma had to admit that Kawamura did have a point. Flicking his gaze up at Ichigo once more, Ryoma asked the other question that was on his mind. "Ok, fine, you both have a good point. What I want to know is why in the hell did I get flicked in the head too? That hurt you know."

Ichigo crossed his arms behind his head as he glanced down at Ryoma. "I flicked you because you've been ignoring my emails since you moved to here to Japan."

"Oi! It's not my fault that Kaasan and Oyaji won't go buy a new computer."

Ichigo sighed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Seigaku has a lab that is open to students, yes?"

"Yeah." Ryoma sighed; he knew where this was going.

"And do you or do you not have time between class and practice to go and use said computers?"

"Yes I do." Ryoma was full on sulking at this point.

"The you really don't have an excuse do you?"

"No. Sorry but I got so out of the habit of checking my email that I just don't think about it most of the time."

Smiling down at the younger boy, Ichigo shrugged it off easily. "I understand that I suppose. But if I didn't flick you after flicking Kaoru, I would have created a double standard. And I know you remember how much I hate those Ryoma."

The small boy never got the chance to answer Ichigo, because it was at that point that the group of eight turned one last corner and reached their destination. Looking upon the group already there, Ichigo was surprised to see not eight but nine individuals there waiting. As the seven younger teens behind him spotted the ninth person and ran up to greet them, Ichigo stood stone still as he tried to process what he was seeing. Finding his voice, the oldest teen spoke. "What are you doing here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**TR: Well, chapter 2 is finally here, I've had it written for a while now but I haven't gotten around to the typing part until now. Please see chapter one for the full disclaimer, I am not typing that sucker out for every chapter. If you recognize it I don't own it.**

Turning at the sound of a very familiar voice and the accompanying feel of very distinct reiatsu, Hisagi scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, "Kurosaki? What are you doing here?"

Fifteen pairs of eyes swiveled back and forth between Ichigo and Hisagi. Tilting his head to one side in thought, and looking even more catlike that usual, Eiji decided he wanted answers. Jumping up from his seat on the stairs to glomp Ichigo, the acrobatic teen began to speak. "Hoi hoi Senpai! So you know Hisagi-san? How did you meet? Are you strong like him? Nya, you didn't die and then come back did you? I would have seen that in the news thought right? I mean you are pretty well known so if that had happened it would have been in the papers at least I would think. So what are you doing here? Do you know what this meeting is about because we don't?"

When Eiji finally stopped talking to take a breath, Oishi took the chance to quickly step in and save Ichigo. "Eiji, you need to stop and give Senpai a chance to answer your questions. Also, I think you might be cutting off his air supply."

Leaping off of Ichigo in favor of latching on to Oishi's arm, Eiji sulked just a bit. "Gomen ne Senpai, I just got so excited to see you. It has been two whole years after all."

Shaking his head with a sigh, Ichigo fixed Eiji with an incredulous look. "Ok seriously Eiji-kun, what the hell did you eat to make you so hyper today?"

"Fsshu."

"Use your words Kaoru. You know I don't answer to hissing."

"I think Mamushi was saying that Eji-senpai is always this energetic."

Turning to stare at Momo in absolute shock, Ichigo nearly yelled in disbelief. "You mean he's gotten worse as he's gotten older?"

Retrieving his ever-present notebook, Inui effortlessly found the page he was looking for. "Hai. Kikumaru's overall energy level has increased by 45% since Senpai graduated and moved to Karakura. Thanks to special training, his stamina has also increased by 75% over the past year. I noticed Senpai hasn't answered either Hisagi-san or Kikumaru's questions, though, and I am also curious as to why you used Kaidoh's given name."

Looking around at the group of younger teens, Ichigo grinned inwardly at the fact that every one of them had a tennis bag handy. That would be really helpful later on after the meeting. Walking over to hop up onto the cement wall next to Tezuka and setting his own bag on the metal railing to his right, Ichigo finally began to speak. "Ne, Shuuhei, I'd tell you what I'm doing here, but I don't want to ruin the surprise. We have about two hours left before the meeting starts, but if you want to meet us at the street courts in about three hours I'll be happy to tell you then. I'll be sure to answer Inui's question for you then too ok?"

"Ah, that's fine Kurosaki, I need to be getting on with my patrol anyway." Turning to look at all the other boys, Hisagi bid his farewells. "Alright minna, I'll see you in a few hours. I'd worry about you all driving Kurosaki insane, but I've seen who he hangs out with. Ja ne."

Waving goodbye to his fellow Shinigami, Ichigo rolled his head to crack his neck as he decided which explanation to start with. "Alright, Inui asked how I know Kaoru, but I figure I'll also explain how I know Ryoma. And Inui, if you had been paying attention on the way here, you would already know the first answer. Kaoru is my cousin, so it's only logical that I use his given name." Pausing to look at his cousin, Ichigo waited until he had gotten the younger boy's attention before continuing. "Do you remember what I did after my mom died Kaoru?"

"You moved to America for three years where you stayed with some friend of Isshin-jisan's. Isn't that when you really got in to playing tennis, considering you first played on the Junior Olympic team when you were twelve?"

"That's right. The friend of Oyaji's that I stayed with was Ryoma's dad, so we ended up pretty much adopting each other as brothers." Ichigo turned to Ryoma for just a moment. "You should know that my sisters are really looking forward to meeting you, and they'll probably call you their big brother too."

"Ok, they're only what, a year younger than me?" Ryoma shrugged and pulled a can of Ponta from his bag.

"Yeah they are." Ichigo stopped to scratch an itch behind his ear before he continued. As he began the story of how he became a Shinigami and his own part in the Winter War, Ichigo couldn't help but notice two things. The first was that he had a very rapt and still audience; Eiji was actually still and Fuji's eyes were open all the way. The second was that Ichigo would likely be telling the story all over again later on. He didn't really mind that though, since it gave him a chance to brag about having such strong friends.

By the time Ichigo had finished his story, an hour had passed. As he looked around at the stunned faces surrounding him, he was happy to note that only four were unfamiliar. There would have been more that Ichigo didn't recognize, but he had been introduced to Momo, Ishida, and Sakurai on the way there. One by one the other four Fudomine players introduced themselves, with Yuuta being the last to do so. When Ichigo heard Yuuta's name, he asked the second year if he was related to the prodigy of Seigaku.

"Hai, I'm his younger brother by one year." Yuuta tried to keep the resentment out of his voice, but he knew it was still there.

Without missing a beat, Ichigo turned to Fuji with a smirk. "Sucks to be you, doesn't it?"

Fuji tilted his head and frowned in confusion. "What do you mean Senpai?"

"Knowing that your younger brother will always be taller than you and could mock you eternally with short jokes." Ichigo's smirk widened when he saw Yuuta's face light up in realization. Obviously the younger boy hadn't thought of that.

Crossing his arms in a mock pout, Fuji opened his eyes as he huffed at Ichigo. "Mou, Senpai is mean. Besides, Yuuta is too nice to pick on me."

Ichigo snorted in amusement. "More like too scared of you." Fuji's pout promptly turned into a glare that had everyone but Tezuka and Ichigo shifting away from the tensai. "Oh put a leash on your inner sadist already Fuji. If you didn't scare me two years ago, what makes you think you'll be able to now?"

Fuji relaxed back into his normal smile at the teasing tone of Ichigo's voice. "Saa, I suppose Senpai is right. It's nice to have you back though.

Smiling in acknowledgement and thanks, Ichigo's expression turned serious as he refocused his attention on Yuuta. "Ne, Yuuta, would you mind slowly showing me the move that has the bones in your shoulders screwed up?"

Fifteen jaws dropped at once as fifteen pairs of eyes stared at Ichigo in shock. The first to break eye contact was Shinji, and the genius from Fudomine opted to stare at the ground as he began to think out loud. "How did Kurosaki-san know about the condition of Yuuta's shoulders? Could he tell just by looking? I suppose that could be possible; after all, it isn't much different than my ability to use spot and see when my opponent's muscles seize up. But I can't even look at Yuuta and tell that something is wrong with his shoulders. Maybe this means I'm not nearly as good as I'd like to think. Or I suppose it could just mean that Kurosaki-san is just on a much higher level. After all, he basically carried Japan to victory in the last two summer Junior Olympics by himself and then fought in a war. I don't think I would have been able to do that myself. I'd like to think that I could become as famous in tennis as he is, but I just don't think I have it in me to fight a war. I-"

"Shinji!" Kamio Akira nearly yelled in his best friend's ear to get the other boy to stop.

"Sunmason."

Ichigo gave the perpetual mumbler a look of amusement before looking back at Yuuta in expectation. That expectation soon turned to anger as he watched the younger boy mime out the motion for the twist spin shot. Pinching the bridge of his nose as he clenched his eyes shut in an effort to keep Ogichi contained, Ichigo exhaled harshly before speaking. "Whoever taught you that move is either a complete moron, or they were purposely trying to destroy your body. I have never in my life seen such a horrible rendition of the twist spin shot before; and I'm not saying that to insult you, I'm saying it because it's true. I will be more than happy to teach you how to do that move properly so you can use it without having to worry about crippling yourself.

Yuuta blinked in surprise at the anger in Ichigo's voice, anger that was most definitely not directed at him. "A-arigatou, Kurosaki-san. I had no idea that it could be done any other way, Mizuki said that he had created the move specifically for me to use against Aniki."

"Who taught it to you?" Ichigo's voice held a dangerous edge.

Before Yuuta had a chance to answer, Fuji jumped in to the conversation. While his tone of voice might have sounded light and friendly, those that knew the brunette could tell that his words were anything but. "His name is Mizuki Hajime and he is the team manager for St. Rudolph. I'll be happy to point him out to Senpai if we see him."

Ichigo flashed him a bloodthirsty smirk; and had Fuji been a lesser man, he probably would have whimpered in fear. Instead, Fuji simply smiled right back at his Senpai with just as much viciousness. Thankfully the tension in the air that was building up due to the violent desires of Ichigo and Fuji was broken by the trill of a cell phone. Pulling the device out of his pocket, Ichigo realized the trill was the alarm he set to indicate the start of the meeting. Hopping down to the ground, Ichigo grabbed his bag and herded the rest of the boys inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**TR: Alright, so here is the third installment. I wish I could tell you all when four will be out, but I haven't even had time to start writing it yet so I can't make any promises. For the disclaimer, please see chapter 1. Kitamori Naoya belongs to me, so ask if you want to use him.**

"Welcome to the National Junior Olympic Committee offices, my name is Kitamori Naoya. I'm sure that you're all very curious about why you're here, so we'll get straight to the point. You have been chosen as the Japanese team for the upcoming Junior Olympics. I realize that you aren't accustomed to a team of this size, so please allow me to explain. In the Junior and regular Olympics singles and doubles are completely different categories. Because of this separation, each competing nation is required to have enough players to hold at least five matches in each category. This way, the singles players can serve as alternates for the double pairs and the doubles players can be alternates for the singles games. There are several things that are different this year as well."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but according to my calculations this competition should have been held this past summer." Inui stared at the man in the front of the room.

"You are correct Inui-kun. The games were delayed by a year due to the unexplained natural disaster that Karakura experienced last winter. After much debate, it was deemed more efficient to postpone the games to next August in order for repairs to be made instead of selecting a new city entirely. Thankfully, none of the participating countries objected to having an extra year to train. I realize that all of you will only have about ten months to train as a team, but based on your performances in the school tournaments, I see no need to be concerned. The other thing that will be done differently this year is who the coach will be. Instead of having a professional coach, you will have a former competitor who is still in school himself."

"About that, what about support staff? You know, trainers and tutors- am I picking them or are you and the committee appointing people?" Ichigo asked from where he was leaning against one of the windows.

"It's been decided that you can select your own support staff, so long as you do not choose more than ten people. There is no requirement that says you must choose adults to be on that staff, as the committee understands that it would be difficult for you to be able to assert your authority in that situation." Kitamori replied.

"Ok that works. I have four friends in Karakura who have already volunteered to help out, so if you guys have anyone you want to bring along, that is fine by me." Ichigo told the boys in the room.

"So, the reason that you're back in Tokyo is to be our coach for the Junior Olympics?" Tezuka knew he sounded redundant, but his brain was having trouble processing that particular revelation.

Ichigo grinned in triumph; he had not forgotten how hard it could be to throw the other boy off balance mentally. As he looked around to see the faces of the rest of his team, Ichigo felt rather than heard Ogichi snickering at the stunned looks.

The next person to break out of their stupor was none other than Eiji. Feeling as energetic as usual, the red haired acrobat promptly glomped Ryoma before expressing his own excitement. "Isn't this great Ochibi? Senpai is going to be our Sensei! Now you'll get to see all of the awesome moves that he knows, and maybe he can teach me some new flips! Nya, I can't wait!"

Ryoma just rolled his eyes at the older boy before squirming out of Eiji's grip. Taking the uniform that Mr. Kitamori handed him, Ryoma walked up to Ichigo with a slightly troubled look on his face. But it wasn't his expression that alerted Ichigo to the small boy's concern, it was the way he addressed the oldest boy. "Oniichan, do you think it would be ok if I bring my cat with us? I get the feeling that we won't be staying in Tokyo to train, and I promise to feed her and clean up after her myself. Please?"

Looking down into desperate gold eyes, Ichigo smiled gently before letting out a sharp whistle. Once he had everyone's attention, he asked if any of the others were allergic to cats. When the rest of the boys indicated that none of them were, Inui piped up that he could also assure that the five support staff members they had chosen had no pet related allergies either. Looking back at Ryoma, Ichigo asked the beaming boy if his question had been answered.

"Eh? Are you bringing Karupin along?" Momo asked excitedly.

"Oh, Echizen is bringing his cat? I didn't even know he had any pets. But we do go to different schools, and it's not like we're best friends so I suppose it isn't surprising that I didn't know. I wish I had a cat, but I can't since 'Kaasan is allergic to them. I would ask Akira's parents if I could keep a cat at their house since I'm over there so often, but that might be considered rude. I guess I'll just have to wait until I move out to get a cat. I think I'll get a calico; I like all the different colors in their fur. I wonder what Echizen's cat is, I hope it's friendly and doesn't hiss at me. I-"

"Shinji." Tachibana interjected firmly.

"Sunmason."

Ichigo grinned in amusement, that Shinji kid was a hoot. Looking at Momo, he told the power player that Ryoma was in fact bringing his cat with them. As he then shifted his attention to Inui, Ichigo did not miss the look of excitement on his cousin's face at the news of Karupin's inclusion. As the data player told the young sensei about the five support members the team had chosen, Ichigo could hear Ogichi and Zangetsu planning in his head a way to train the two girls and three boys alongside the team.

Looking at his watch, Ichigo noticed that it was time to go if they wanted to be on time to meet Hisagi at the street courts. The group of sixteen boys thanked Mr. Kitamori for explaining things, as well as the chance to be a part of the Junior Olympics. As they exited the building, Ichigo spotted two familiar figures approaching. Waving in greeting, the teen picked up his pace just a bit so that he could talk to them. "Ohayo, Inoue-san. You on your way to interview the Junior Olympic team for that tennis magazine you write for?"

"Ohayo, Kurosaki-kun, it's been a while. I suppose you're going to tell me that my chance to do those interviews in a nice conference room is gone?"

Ichigo laughed softly. "Yeah, for today at least. We're headed over to the street courts though if you want to come along." Turning to look at the other person in front of him, Ichigo continued. "Of course you're more than welcome to join us too, Orihime. It'll give you a chance to get to know the boys while they aren't on the court."

Orihime looked up at the blonde man next to her. "See Mamoru-kun, I told you it would be a good idea for me to come with you today. I told you that Kurosaki-kun asked me to be part of the support staff for the team."

By this time all the boys had caught up to Ichigo, and Inui was looking back and forth between Orihime and the tennis reporter that he and the others had come to know in confusion. Quickly getting the drift, Inoue-san introduced Orihime as his younger cousin from Karakura. This revelation prompted several reactions from the tennis players as they walked to the street courts. Kaidoh, Ishida, and Kawamura all introduced themselves shyly before trying to fade into the back of the group as best as they could. Conversely, Eiji and Fuji were happily introducing the rest of the large team with smiles and excitement. Of course the auburn haired girl was the most amused when Momo and Sakurai began to flirt with her; after all, what girl doesn't like to be complimented.

Ichigo was torn between mortification and amusement as he watched his kohai hit on one of his closest friends. Sure, he remembered what it was like to be thirteen and discovering what it was like to be attracted to others, but that didn't mean that Ichigo was going to miss a prime chance for blackmail material. Apparently he wasn't the only person with that train of thought, since Inui was next to him writing in that ever present notebook. Ichigo could swear he heard the other teen murmur something about good data as his pen flew over the pages in his hand. Off on the other side, Ichigo caught a glimpse of Fuji and Eiji out of the corner of his eye. Had he not known who the two were targeting, Ichigo would have been concerned by the sight of the boys snickering whilst the tensai made good use of the camera that had appeared in his hands.

Alas, the group's collective amusement was cut short by Tachibana and Tezuka. In a show of impressive solidarity, Tachibana smacked both the second years upside the head while Tezuka steeped in front of them and began apologizing to Orihime. Naturally, the perky girl waved off such trivialities. "Oh, don't worry Tezuka-kun. I thought Sakurai-kun and Momo-kun were actually quite sweet. And really it's actually very flattering to be the one they can use to practice flirting with. I really don't mind at all, so please don't feel bad, ok?"

"I bet I can think if someone who would mind." Ichigo heard Kaidoh mumble. He knew his cousin was thinking of Tatsuki, and the younger boy was right. Ichigo snorted softly at the hilarious mental image of what the vicious girl would do to Sakurai and Momo for trying to put the moves on Orihime.

In what felt like no time at all, the group of eighteen reached the steps that led up to the street courts. Stopping abruptly at the head of the group, Ichigo and Orihime shared a concerned glance. Rushing up the stairs to get a better look at things, Ichigo mentally cursed at the chaos he saw. The street courts were full of players from at least three different schools; and where there should have been one Shinigami, he and Orihime spotted five. Bringing his thumb and forefinger of one hand to his lips, Ichigo let out an ear shattering whistle before speaking. And while the hot-headed teen's voice might have started out gentle, it didn't stay that way for long. "Now that I have everyone's attention, would somebody like to tell me exactly WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"


	4. Chapter 4

**TR: Holy cow! I know it's taken forever but chapter four is finally here! For those of you who also read my other stories I would just like to say that I'm very sorry and I haven't abandoned anything, I've just had major writes block and no time to push through it really. I still don't own anything but the idea, and for future reference, any time I have Ogichi speaking it will be in bold.**

The mess of people gathered at the street courts regarded Ichigo and his companions silently for just a moment before picking back up right where they had left off. In one corner Ichigo could see Ikkaku picking a fight with four boys from Rikkai, while Yumichika was getting in a shouting match with a bunch of players from Hyoutei. Up in the stands, two boys in Fudomine jackets were valiantly trying to defend the girl with them from a red headed boy wearing a Yamabuki jacket. Deciding that the situation in the stands needed to be dealt with first, Ichigo turned in that direction.

Before he could take the more than two steps, Ichigo saw something that made his blood boil. The red headed boy was grabbing the girl's hand, trying to pull her away from her seat. As Ichigo picked up his pace to intervene, five blurs rushed past him. Watching in almost shock as he continued moving, he saw Tachibana and Yuuta tackle the red head while Kamio and Momo fussed over the girl and Shinji began to talk to the two boys. Not wanting to see his players cause bloodshed on his first official day as their coach, Ichigo pulled Yuuta and Tachibana off of the red head. As he pushed the Yamabuki student behind him, Ichigo had to throw his hands up to push Tachibana back so the Fudomine student couldn't get to the boy behind him.

"Sengoku you bastard! Keep your damn hands off of my sister." Tachibana growled as he felt someone grab him from behind. Hisagi had grabbed the teen in an effort to help Ichigo get a handle on things.

"Don't you understand the word no? An-chan obviously didn't want to go with you, so what the hell gives you the right to ignore that?" Kamio raged. Renji was doing his best to restrain the speedster and Momo while Rukia checked on An.

"Mou, I guess today isn't very lucky after all. Here I was hoping to have lunch with a pretty girl, but I guess I'll just have to look elsewhere for a cute date today."

Of course during this exchange, four individuals had been overlooked and were thus unguarded. Not caring one bit for Sengoku Kyosumi's attitude, Shinji and the other three boys tackled the red head as a team. Ichigo didn't notice until it was too late, so the best he could do was to pull the boys off one at a time. Once Sengoku was free of the Fudomine dog pile, the red head opted to use his brain and run for it while he still had the chance.

Ichigo ignored the two boys he didn't know temporarily to focus on the five that he did. Feeling his control over Ogichi slip, he gladly allowed his eyes to shift and his voice to distort. "**What the hell were you thinking? Do you want to get kicked off the team? I have two sisters; I get the whole overprotective thing. But here's the deal, he isn't worth me having to kick you off the team. So I suggest you five take some chill pills and calm the hell down NOW!"**

Relaxing in Hisagi's arms and leaning back into the Shinigami, Tachibana looked at the four second years that had charged at Sengoku with him. Yuuta, Shinji, Momo, Kamio, and Tachibana himself all shared a look that clearly said, "Let's not piss Sensei off. Ever." Feeling the arms that had been restraining him release, Tachibana was about to apologize to Ichigo for how he and his kohai had acted when he felt a palm connect rather sharply with the side of his head. Reaching a hand up to rub at the impact sight, Tachibana supposed he shouldn't have been too surprised to see his little sister shaking one hand with a grimace.

"Onii-chan, you are such and idiot sometimes. I love you, and it's sweet how protective you are of me, but I'm a big girl. Dad didn't pay for all those self defense lessons for me for nothing, you know that better than anyone." Tachibana winced, even the memory of being her practice dummy hurt. "We had the situation completely under control. Honestly Onii-chan, with how protective the whole team is of me, do you really think that Uchimura-kun and Mori-kun would have let Sengoku walk away without a scratch?"

"You're right An, I'm sorry. Would it help if I told you what the meeting I was at this morning was about?"

An narrowed her eyes in thought. Just because she adored her brother didn't mean she was incapable of being mad at him. "Don't think that distracting me will make me forget about this incident Onii-chan. However, I'll forgive all five of you if you tell me about the meeting."

"We're going to be on the national Junior Olympic tennis team, and we want you to come along as part of the support staff." Momo blurted out quickly. He had seen what happens when An gets mad, and the trickster of Seigaku had no desire to see such things again in the near future.

"Really? That's fantastic guys! Do I really get to be on the support staff? That would be so cool." An squealed with glee as she began to bounce up and down.

Scuffing the toe of his shoe against the pavement, Uchimura looked up at Tachibana from beneath the bill of his cap. "Ano, Tachibana-san, what about Mori and me? And what about Fudomine?"

Tachibana smiled at his two kohai. "Uchimura, Mori, I am trusting the two of you with a very important task. I'm counting on the two of you to take care of Fudomine and build a team that is strong enough to win nationals. The Junior Olympic games won't be for almost a year, but even if they weren't I would still be moving on to high school, so it is very important that you do this."

"We won't let you down, Tachibana-san." Mori said with a grin. He was happy that Tachibana thought so highly of them both.

"Well this is all great and very touching, but what the hell are you doing here Ichigo? Shouldn't you and Orihime-san be in school in Karakura? I mean at the very least you should be in Seireitei doing your paperwork and looking after your squad. It's not fair to unload all of your work on poor Kira-kun you lazy ass strawberry." Abarai Renji looked scornfully at the teen in front of him.

"Don't even start with me Renji, the third is two months ahead on paperwork, and I did most of it myself so I could learn how to fill out those damn forms. I'm here because I was asked to coach the Junior Olympic boy's tennis team in preparation for the games that are going to be held in Karakura next summer. Oh, and since I told you I would let you know how I know Kaoru, the fact is he is my cousin and Ryoma is my unofficial little brother. Is that everything I said I would tell you Shuuhei?" Ichigo had turned to face the dark haired man as he tried to figure out if he had forgotten anything.

"Let me get this right, you took one of the squads hit worst by the war and got it not only back into rotation in record time, but you're two months ahead on the paperwork? Not even Kuchiki-Taicho or Ise-san are that good, and they are damn good!" Hisagi exclaimed in shock.

"I've also been going to school and getting my tennis back up to par so I can coach well." Ichigo commented off-handedly.

Yuuta gaped at the orange haired boy in front of him. He was about to speak up and ask Ichigo a question, but An blurted it out before he had a chance. "Sensei, when do you sleep?"

Meanwhile, over with Ikkaku, the bald brawler was having a great time pissing off the four boys in front of him. The tall one in the black cap had a temper to rival Ichigo's, and the little one seemed to have some spunk to him as well. The only one that Ikkaku wasn't crazy about was the brunette with the closed eyes, that kid's expression reminded Ikkaku far too much of Ichimaru. Oh how he wished it were legal to kill mortals with high reiatsu to refill the ranks, Ikkaku knew the four around him would make great Shinigami. Admittedly, he had made sure not to piss off the blue haired boy too much. There was just something about that kid that reminded Ikkaku of Unohana-Taicho, and in a fairly scary way too.

"Aw come on, don't tell me you boys are too chicken to challenge me? I'll tell you what; we'll use bokken instead of live blades so you don't have to worry about getting cut. C'mon, what do you sa-ow!" Ikkaku reached up to rub the back of his head where Ichigo had hit him. Really, he could have sworn the team was over on the other side of the courts by the bleachers. Turning to glare at Ichigo, the third seat actually felt himself want to back down and not fight the teen. Ikkaku did not like that sensation one bit.

While Ikkaku fought an inner battle with the last few dredges of his sense of self-preservation, Sanada took the chance to speak up. "Konnichiwa, Kurosaki-senpai. When did you return to Tokyo?"

"Eh? You know him Fukubuchou?" Akaya asked as he looked up at the tall teen in confusion.

Before Sanada could answer his kohai, Ichigo opted to give his reply. "Yo, Genichirou, I see you've grown quite a bit. I'm actually only in town temporarily to pick up the Junior Olympic team." Turning to Yukimura and Yanagi, Ichigo greeted both boys genially. "How are you both doing? I heard about your illness Yukimura-kun, I'm glad your doing much better now."

Bowing lightly to the older boy, Yukimura smiled as he answered Ichigo. "Thank you very much Kurosaki-san, I appreciate your concern. Are you playing on the Junior Olympic team again this time?"

"No, I'm actually going to be the coach this time around." Ichigo shrugged his tennis bag a little farther up onto his shoulder before turning to introduce himself to Akaya. "Hey, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. I know Genichirou from tennis, which is how I know Yukimura-kun and Yanagi-kun, but I also studied Kendo from Genichirou's grandfather."

Before Akaya could respond and introduce himself, Sanada cut in. "So who all is on the Junior Olympic team this time Senpai?"

Ichigo cringed inwardly; he knew Sanada wasn't going to like the answer. "Well, nine kids from Seigaku and six from Fudomine. And yes, I did pick them myself. You and the rest of Rikkai are really good, but I picked players that I can actually teach things to."

"I see. Well then, I suppose that we'll just have to wish you all luck then." Yukimura said with no small sense of disappointment. Turning around to leave, the blue haired teen bid farewell to Ichigo and Ikkaku, leaving his three teammates to hurry to catch up to him.

"Well then, now that I've pissed off Yukimura-kun and by extension the rest of his team, let's go save Hyoutei from Yumichika." Ichigo clapped Ikkaku on the shoulder with semi-false cheer in his voice as he turned.

"Hold on, Kurosaki-senpai. I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you." Sanada called out as he jogged back toward the two Shinigami.

"Genichirou? I thought you were following Yukimura-kun. What can I do for you?"

"Play a match with me. Seiichi will be fine; in fact he would have stayed if he didn't have a doctor's appointment to get to. Before you take your team away for training I want one match with you." Sanada had taken his trademark hat off to look Ichigo in the eye.

"Ok, but we do it as doubles. And I want you to play on a team with Atobe. I've seen the videos of you two from the invitational tournament." Ichigo looked Sanada in the eye, letting the younger boy know just how serious he was.

Huffing in irritation, Sanada tugged his hat back on harshly as he agreed to the condition before heading to get the diva for the match.


End file.
